Label of love: A history of ECM in 10 albums, from Keith Jarrett to June Tabor

Keith Jarrett: Facing You (1971) The US
pianist’s first solo album is an astonishing outpouring of spontaneous
melody. It was the beginning of a recording relationship that now
extends to more than 80 recordings.

Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Palle Danielsson and Jon Christensen: Belonging (1974)
The first meeting of Jarrett’s “European” quartet exemplifies Eicher’s
instinct for collaborations. For many (including this writer), Belonging
is one of the most joyously perfect recordings in the ECM catalogue.

Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians (1978) A seminal work of minimalism and a harbinger of Eicher’s move towards contemporary composed music with his New Series.

Dave Holland: Seeds of Time (1982)
One of several ground- breaking recordings by the English bassist that
helped to introduce odd metres to jazz and other musicians to the
influential saxophonist Steve Coleman.

Arvo Pärt: Tabula Rasa (1984) The
first release of ECM’s now similarly influential classical imprint, New
Series; Eicher heard the Estonian composer’s minimalist masterpiece by
chance on his car radio and decided that he wanted to record it.

Kenny Wheeler: Music for Large and Small Ensembles (1990)
The Canadian trumpeter and composer’s masterpiece, a sonorous
congregation of transatlantic talent that has become the new testament
for big-band arrangers.

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Master Quality Authenticated (MQA): Using pioneering scientific research into how people hear, we’ve
realised that dream. A technology that captures the full magic of an
original studio performance, in a format that’s small enough to stream –
to your computer, smartphone or any other device – or download.

The ear is hugely sensitive to timing detail. As sounds
arrive at different times – microseconds apart – your brain uses this
information to create a 3D soundscape. It’s what makes live music such a
powerful and emotive experience.